Student Reflections from Arnhem Land Experience Pre-Learning Day

The day was filled with a rich and engaging program that immersed students in Indigenous culture and knowledge. A full timetable of activities was organised, with students rotating through a variety of workshops and experiences—ranging from ‘IndigUcation’ to ‘Gululu Arnhem Land’ and more. Highlights of the day included a powerful Welcome to Country, which set a respectful and reflective tone for the events that followed.

Students participated in a “Walking with Country” workshop that encouraged a meaningful connection with the land and spirit, while a Language and Cultural Awareness workshop offered deeper insights into Indigenous identity, storytelling and traditions. Students actively participated in each session, embracing the opportunity to engage with Indigenous knowledge through hands-on activities and personal stories shared by our guest facilitators.

The Pre-Learning Day was not only an educational experience but an emotional and spiritual one – fostering empathy, curiosity and respect among our students. It laid an important foundation for their upcoming cultural immersion in Arnhem Land and left many feeling inspired, better informed, and eager for the journey ahead. Here’s what some of our students had to say about this experience:

• George Yeo: At first me and a lot of people were nervous about the Arnhem Land incursion, but I think the pre-learning helped clarify a lot of things that people were concerned about along with giving us some experience about the camp that was interesting. I am looking forward to it since the activities during the day were very fun and relaxing and the people working at Culture College were all very kind.
• Kayla Pearce: The Pre-Learning Day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I truly appreciate all the time and effort that was put into it. I was a little hesitant at first about going to Arnhem Land but after hearing all the stories and being involved in the activities, it brought me happiness and peace and I kept becoming more and more excited about the experience. Overall, it was an amazing day, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to experience this day with my peers.
• Liam Chen: The Arnhem Land Pre-Learning Day was very interesting. I was able to learn about the Indigenous culture, participate in indigenous activities, and listen to the didgeridoo in real life. In addition, I was also able to learn how people disrespect indigenous culture, for example, littering and pollution. The one activity that I enjoyed the most was the indigenous version of giant’s treasure. I was able to understand why indigenous people play this game barefooted. Moreover, listening to Murrindindi playing the didgeridoo was amazing. Overall, this experience was very good, and I learnt so much of what we should be expecting to see in Arnhem land.
• Josh Hick: The Pre-Arnhem land experience was an overall positive. We got to learn about many different ways of taking care of country and celebrating the Aboriginal cultures. This was especially shown in the activities we participated in, as it displayed to the groups the importance of taking care of Country and the different perspectives and paths some First Nations people have gone down, something perfectly explained by Murrindindi, an Indigenous Elder. The experience, people and activities made the day a success.
• Nico Wilkenson: I found the incursion to be very helpful in regard to the insight that I gained into their culture and the country we live on. Before this, I wasn’t fully aware of how important respect was to the Yoŋgu people but now that I am, I’ll make sure that respect is high on my agenda when I visit Arnhem Land.